For weeks, San Francisco Mayor Ed Leehas been doing background checks and interviewing and re-interviewing the three finalists for police chief - and from the looks of it, he is isn't comfortable with any of them.

Of the three, Suhr is the best-known and the most popular on the force. He also has the backing of the Police Officers Association and a number of members of the Board of Supervisors.

But Suhr also comes with the most baggage. For starters, he was one of the command staff members indicted on charges of conspiring to obstruct a police investigation back in 2003 when then-District Attorney Terence Hallinan was chasing the infamous Fajitagate affair, in which three off-duty cops allegedly beat up a pair of men for their Mexican takeout.

Suhr also was once reprimanded for not following department timelines in reporting a domestic violence incident involving a female friend who called him to say she had been attacked by her boyfriend.

A judge dropped the Fajitagate indictments against Suhr and other top police officials as baseless, and the victim in the domestic violence case - who testified against her assailant at Suhr's urging - praised his conduct. But Lee appears to be worried what the media would make of Suhr's elevation to chief.

Suhr is also identified with the department's good ol' boys, and making him chief could be seen as a slap at former Chief Heather Fong, who tried to sideline his career for reasons no one has ever been able to explain.

The outside candidate - who is now working in another police department and whose identity is being kept under wraps - got high marks from the Police Commission, which forwarded the finalists to Lee.

But spurning a pick from inside the SFPD to replace George Gascón, himself an outsider recruited from Mesa, Ariz., would be a big political risk for Lee. It could trigger a war with the police union, at a time when Lee is looking for the union to make wage and pension concessions to help with the city's budget deficit.

The third choice, Mahoney, is the least toxic - in large part because he also has the least command experience. He was promoted by Gascón from lieutenant to commander without ever having served as a station captain.

Lee could play it safe and pick Mahoney, but that would be going against the criteria that he laid out for the new chief: that the pick be a dynamic leader with new ideas.

As for why the Police Commission didn't give Lee more choices?

It seems these were the only candidates on whom the panel's seven members could agree.

Welcome to City Hall, Mr. Mayor.

Nice try: How's this for timing?

At 8:40 the night before the state Citizens Compensation Commission was scheduled to vote on whacking legislators' pay and benefits, chairman Charles Murray- who supported the cuts - got a call from Gov. Jerry Brown'soffice informing him that he was being replaced as head of the panel.

In other words, "I got fired," Murray said.

As of right then.

It's no secret that lawmakers have been smarting under cuts that the commission imposed in 2009, which reduced their salaries by 18 percent and benefits by 8 percent.

It's also no secret that Brown needs votes in the Legislature to pass his budget.

So maybe it wasn't a surprise Thursday when the first thing Brown's new appointee Thomas Dalzellproposed was delaying a vote on more salary and benefits cuts for a couple of months for further study.

Murray, who remains on the panel, and the other commissioners agreed. However, they drew the line at free cars for lawmakers, replacing them with a $300 monthly car allowance.

As for the timing of Murray being bounced as chairman?

"The governor had the prerogative to appoint a new chairman and he did so," said gubernatorial spokesman Gil Duran.

And finally: Former San Francisco supervisor-turned-barkeep Chris Dalyis getting an up-close look at what it's like to deal with City Hall.

First, someone drops a dime on Daly's Buck Tavern on Market Street for not having permits for its pool table and pinball machines.

Good citizen Daly went down and applied for the permits - which in turn triggered an inspection by the Planning Department. The agency promptly cited the bar for having vinyl trim on its windows instead of wood, which is a violation of the neighborhood building code.

Upshot: The pool and pinball permits are on hold until the windows get cleaned up.

Daly - whose four-letter explosions and anti-big business bombasts were a regular feature of his time of the board - is taking it all in stride, telling us, "It's a lot more exciting than listening to the mayor at question time."

Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX-TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815 or e-mail matierandross@sfchronicle.com.